


An unexpected Christmas Eve

by springberry



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, F/M, Fire, First Kiss, POV Tris Prior, Snow, Snowed In, fireplace, improvising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-18 12:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13099788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springberry/pseuds/springberry
Summary: Tris has to go on a mission outside of Dauntless with her instructor Four on Christmas Eve. Their plan to be back in time to celebrate Christmas with their friends turns to dust (or snow ;-))as they end up being snowed in together in an empty house. Between Dauntless and Abnegation traditions, they find their own way to celebrate Christmas...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this is a short Christmas story I decided to write spontaneously five days ago, inspired by the snowflakes I watched falling (peacefully though, without a storm) outside my window... It has turned out longer than I thought, and I decided to split it into three chapters and publish the first one today and the following on the 25th and 26th, so you won't have to wait long (but a little waiting is part of the Christmas excitement, isn't it?) ;-)
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading, and if you find the time between decorating the Christmas tree, family dinners and (un)wrapping gifts, please leave kudos or a comment, you would make me really happy.  
> Merry Christmas to all of you!!!
> 
>  
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I own neither the Divergent world nor the characters, they belong to Veronica Roth.

**An unexpected Christmas Eve**

"Initiates," Eric's voice echoes from the walls around us and the crowd instantly falls silent. I wonder what it is that we were ordered to gather in the training room for, since it's already after dinner, and we've already had training in the afternoon. It has to be something important, or Four and Lauren wouldn't be here, too. They're standing beside Eric, one of them on each side.

"We have decided that this year each initiate has to accompany one of their trainers on a mission to help with a real task outside the Dauntless compound. That gives you the chance to show your skills in another environment than the training room or fear landscapes. We want to be done with these assignments by Christmas, so there's little time left. That's why Lauren and Four each have chosen whom of you they want to take with them, and the rest of you is coming with me. You'll find a list with your names, your trainers and the dates of your missions on the black board next to the door of this training room. And before you ask, there'll be no changes allowed. We'll stick to the list, no exceptions. So, that's it for tonight."

Eric dismisses us with a wave of his hand, and an excited humming immediately raises around us.

"What do you think will be your task?" Christina asks me, clearly excited.

"I don't care so much about what it will be, more about who it'll be with. I hope I won't have to go with Eric," I say, and the thought of having to leave the shelter of the compound with Eric to go anywhere alone with him makes me shiver. No, that's really nothing I want to do. I wouldn't have a problem to go with Lauren, but I'd prefer to be assigned to Four, of course. Maybe I'd have a chance to learn a little more about him, something that might help me figure out who he is.

There's a bunch of initiates in front of the board, and Christina drags me towards them. She's curious to find our names, but I stay behind. I don't want to have to squeeze my way to the front to read the list when I can also wait another five minutes until everyone else has checked it, and then walk up to it without trouble.

But Christina is faster than that. "You're with Four, and I'm with Lauren. Peter has to go with Eric, and I'm actually happy about that, especially because he's obviously angry about it," she informs me with a wide grin. Thank heavens I'm with Four. The tension caused by the thought of having to spend a day alone with Eric vanishes, only to be replaced slowly by another kind of tension that's creeping up on me, settling itself down in my stomach. I'm going to spend a day alone with Four, outside the compound, away from all the cameras.

Due to Christmas only being a week away, initiates are going out of the compound each day with Lauren, Four and Eric. It's not allowed to tell anyone what we're doing out there, so rumors are flying around. I get more and more nervous each day, and it doesn't help that I'm the last one on the list, my mission scheduled for the 24th. Four told me not to worry about it being Christmas Eve, since we'd be leaving early and return in the early afternoon. Although that's not what I'm really nervous about, after all it's good to know that I'll be back in time to celebrate Christmas with my friends. It's my first holiday without my family, and that'll feel pretty strange, I'm sure.

There's plenty to do during this last week before the holidays. For the first time in my life, I go for a stroll through the shops in the pit to buy presents for my friends. I can't afford anything expensive, but everyone assures me that it's not about giving anything big or extraordinary. It's more important to pick something that fits the personality of the person you want to give it to. When Christina asks me if I have a wish for Christmas, I'm so surprised that I can't come up with anything. It's a question nobody has ever asked me before. She laughs and shakes her head at me, telling me Abnegation rules are unbelievable, and that she'll find something for me that I'll like.

Apart from spending time buying presents, we meet in the cafeteria's kitchen to bake Christmas cookies, which turns out to be great fun. Also, the initiates have to help decorating the compound for the festivities, so we put candles on the tables in the cafeteria, hang lanterns and colorful lights along the stone walls leading up from the pit and hang mistletoe above doors.

"What is that for? Someone will run right into it," I laugh. I've seen mistletoe growing in the treetops, but I didn't know you could use it as decoration. And why do we hang it in the door frames? I'm small, I can walk underneath it without hitting my head, but what about the taller men? Christina and Uriah just laugh about my question. Obviously it's something funny to ask.

"You'll find out someday soon, I guess," Christina chuckles and Uriah adds, "Yeah, let's just say it brings luck if you stand underneath the mistletoe. By the way, you're coming to my Christmas party after dinner on Christmas Eve, aren't you? We're going to celebrate in my brother's apartment, he's inviting some friends, too."

"I already told you that we're coming," I reply, speaking for both me and Christina.

And then, after my last simulation on the day before Christmas, Four sends me home with the advice to put on warm clothes for our mission the next day, since we'd spend most of the day outside. I'm supposed to meet him at the train tracks at eight in the morning. It's quite early for me, given that I don't get much sleep that night.

I should probably be worrying about whatever it is that I'll have to do, and that I'll be scored for my work, but I'm not. No, what I'm actually nervous about is passing time alone with Four. I've never spent so much time alone with a boy, ever, and although he's not that much older than I am, he's still my instructor. What am I going to talk about with him? What if he wants to talk about my divergence again? The thought makes me uneasy. I know he said I could trust him, but it's difficult for me to do so. I wish I could, but I know too little about him. He knows so much about me already, but he never shares anything personal with me, or the other initiates.

But then again, why should he? He's working with us. Our training is his work, not something he does for fun. There's absolutely no reason for him to open up to me about himself. On the other hand, we've had some moments that I'm sure were not exactly how you'd imagine a trainer talking to an initiate, when he touched my face in the hallway or when he brushed my hair out of my face and trailed his fingertips over my neck before injecting me with fear serum. I may not have experience with this kind of things, but the way he made me feel was so new and foreign to me that I think it was about more than him just caring for one of his initiates.

I don't know how late it is when I finally did fall asleep last night, but I know that everyone else in my dormitory was already sleeping while I was still awake. I force my body under the cool shower to wake it up, and then I put on several layers of clothing to keep me warm outside. Next, I head down to the cafeteria for breakfast, and, though I'm not hungry, I force myself to eat a good serving of scrambled eggs with bacon and some fruit salad. I'm surely going to need the energy.

When I reach the train tracks at ten to eight, Four is already there, repacking some items into two big backpacks.

"Good morning, Four," I say, and he turns towards me. A slight smile plays at the corners of his mouth.

"Morning," he replies before he focuses on the backpacks again. "I'm about to finish packing them. One of them is yours. You'll have to help carry the equipment. We also have food and hot drinks, so we can take a lunch break when we get hungry. Actually, we could maybe take three, since the guy in the kitchen gave me so much food because of Christmas."

I'm relieved Four is in a good mood. It doesn't seem to bother him that he has to work today.

"Let's try not to end up spending more time eating than actually working," I smile.

"That's impossible, I think. We're not supposed to get back to Dauntless until we've finished our mission."

"So what exactly is this mission today?" I want to know.

"We're heading out of the city in the direction of the fence, but we'll jump off the train before we get there. It's a rather deserted part of the city, where usually nobody goes because it's too far out. But there are security cameras out there that we'll have to check and maintain. Some work with batteries that have to be replaced before they run out of energy. Others have to be repaired. We'll see about that. I have a mobile device that shows a map of the area and the places where the cameras are. We'll use it to navigate. It'll be part of your job today. I hope you know how to read a map?"

"I learned that at school, yes, and we used maps of the city when we went out to help the Factionless when I was still in Abnegation," I answer confidently. Reading a map and the whole task in general doesn't sound too difficult. I don't know much about cameras, but it can't be that tricky to replace them or simply change their batteries.

"Good," Four nods as the train comes into view and speeds in our direction. We both put the backpacks on and get into position next to the tracks. It won't be as easy as it usually is with the extra weight on my back, I realize. Before I can really start to worry about that, Four starts running in front of me, so I take off behind him. The train's rattling sound grows louder each second until it passes us and Four jumps into the first wagon. I force my legs to run, run faster, run so fast that my muscles burn, and then I take a leap, grab the handle beside the door and pull myself up and into the wagon. Four nods in acknowledgement when I manage to stay up on my feet instead of stumbling to the ground.

"You can take off the backpack, it'll take a while until we have to get off the train."

I do what I'm told and sit down on the floor next to Four. He sits cross-legged in front of one of the wagon's open doors, watching the city speed by, and I join his silence. Luckily, the lack of conversation doesn't feel awkward. We would have to shout over the sounds of the train and the icy wind anyway. I love watching the Marsh coming into view and the city's buildings growing smaller in the distance.

We finally jump off on a meadow, and this time I fall from the sudden decrease of speed when my feet touch the ground. How good that the temperature is slightly below zero and the earth frozen, or I'd be covered in mud and would have to run around in dirty pants all day.

I'm surprised to see Four's hand outstretched towards me when I look up. I lay my small palm in his big one, and he pulls me up from the ground. For a moment we stand there in front of each other, his hand still closed around mine, and I'm very aware of how close we are. I look into his eyes, and he looks into mine.

"Thank you," I say, because that's the first thing which comes to my mind.

"You're welcome," he replies. It feels like he's going to say something more, but then he releases my hand and starts walking towards an old road some yards away and I follow in his wake.

We spend most of the morning working in comfortable silence. It's a nice change from spending time with my fellow initiates, who always have something to talk about, even if it's just random gossip that I don't care about.

Basically, we walk from camera to camera and check if they still function properly. It's easy to lead the way with the digital map Four has given me, once I've found the place we jumped off the train. Four shows me how to check the quality of the batteries with a special electricity tester, and how to replace them if needed. We've brought a selection of screwdrivers that we have to choose the right one from for each camera, according to the size of the screws with which their casings are bolt together, to open and close their energy supply units. The hardest thing about it is that my fingers are getting colder and colder as time goes by, but other than that, I can soon do it on my own. Four lets me work without interrupting me.

When we come across a broken camera and Four tries to repair it on the spot, he sends me ahead to check the next ones on my own, "You don't need my help to do that. Just tell me if one is broken, so I can fix it. I'll catch up with you, go ahead. I know where most of the cameras are anyway."

"If you know it, why do I have to look up the way on the map?"

"Cause it's part of the mission and your scoring," he explains, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

We have checked about forty cameras and walked quite some distance when we reach a small hut that Four opens with a key. "It belongs to Dauntless. We can use it while out on a mission to take a break, or even to sleep in here if necessary," he explains.

It really is very basically equipped inside, but my eyes light up when I see that Four fumbles with the hose of a gas canister, which he connects to a round mobile radiator. He manages to bring it to life and soon the surrounding air is getting warmer. We draw chairs next to it from the wall and sit down to warm up. I don't feel that cold, but my hands and feet are.

"Are you hungry?" Four asks me after a while.

"Not much. I had a huge breakfast."

"You can eat a huge breakfast?" he teases.

"Are you trying to be funny now?" I ask in mock shock. It's not exactly typical for him, always rather serious.

"Trying, yes."

"Well, unsuccessfully though," I state dryly with my eyebrows raised at him. He chuckles, and I join him and shake my head. Since when do we crack jokes with each other?

We decide to simply share a sandwich, so that we can continue our work and finish it in time. When we step outside again, the air feels significantly colder, and it has become darker although it's only around noon, with clouds hiding the sun almost completely now.

We set off along the crumbling road. The fifth camera we have to check is on top of a water tower. A rusty ladder leads upwards to the roof. I look up there and then glance at Four out of the corner of my eye, only to see him swallow while he stares at the camera high above the ground. He doesn't have to ask, and I won't make him. I put down my backpack, take three steps towards the ladder and start climbing it. The metal feels cold as I wrap my hands around the bars to go up. I don't take time to look down or to think or worry, I just keep going until I reach the roof. I carry the basic tools in the pockets of my work jacket, so I can do what is needed and then get back down quickly. It's nice to be on the ground again, not because I dislike heights, but because the wind doesn't blow as hard as on top of the tower.

I wordlessly put my backpack back on, quickly check the map for the next stop and get going.

"Thank you," Four says, and that's when I know he noticed that I climbed up there because I remembered his fear of heights.

"You're welcome," I mumble modestly. It's not a big deal, it's nothing I'm afraid of.

We keep working, the sky around us growing darker with more and bigger clouds gathering below the ones that are already there. The wind is becoming stronger, too, and we try to shelter our faces by turning our backs to it whenever possible.

But at some point, the wind's force increases, and suddenly it's coming from everywhere. At least, that is what it feels like. I pull my hood down further over my forehead, but the wind keeps blowing it back down if I don't hold it in place.

And then it starts to snow, and not just a bit. Thick snowflakes are swirling around us, flying where the wind blows them.

"So what are we going to do now?" I ask.

"This is your mission, so what would you suggest?"

Okay, if he'll leave it to me… "I think it's best if we go find some shelter from the storm first, and then we can think about our next step there."

"That sounds like a good plan. And where do we go from here?"

I look around, but I can't see far from where we are. Our surroundings blur into grey from all the snow in the air, apart from the contours of some bare trees. The road seems to lead into nothingness to both our left and right. I know where we came from and that we've walked a good distance since we left the hut, and I think there are some houses in the other direction. I quickly check the map to be sure we're heading the right way by following the road ahead of us. Hopefully, the map is correct and not overly outdated, since it shows a single house not too far from where we are.

"Let's continue in this direction. In about fifteen minutes we should find a path that leads to the left and ends at a house. If we're lucky, it's still intact and not just a ruin."

"Lead the way," Four says, again this small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He almost seems… proud?

I must imagine it. It's hard to really see with all the snow blurring my vision, making me blink. I don't hesitate and start walking as fast as I can without actually running. It wouldn't make our situation easier if one of us slipped on the glistening snow that begins to cover the road now.

I spot the path marked on the map after having walked for a while and my agitation builds. What if there is no house anymore?

But my worries turn out to be unnecessary ten minutes later, when we can finally see the silhouette of a small one-story house. Getting closer, it looks as if it is still in a good enough condition for us to wait there for the storm to pass. Four stops me by blocking my way with his arm outstretched in front of me.

"Tris, think about what we should do next. Think like a soldier."

He's right. I was so relieved to reach this place that I didn't think about the possibility that we could not be the only ones around here. I take a deep breath of cold air and focus on what I see in front of me.

"The house looks still habitable, so there could be someone living here. It looks deserted, though. There are no lights and there's no smoke coming out of the chimney. That's a good sign for us, since it reduces the chance that someone lives here. There'd be no need to keep the lights turned off or to avoid a fire out here, because I think the chance for anyone passing by, especially in this weather, is minimal. The garden is overgrown, which means nobody cares to use the soil for growing crops. I'd suggest we circle the house once, and if we don't see anything suspicious, we should go inside and carefully check all the rooms for any signs of possible occupants."

"Well analyzed. So, to speed this whole process up a little, I'll go to the right and you to the left, and then we'll meet again at the back of the house. We can go in together then."

"Okay."

I don't think we'll find anyone here, but I get that we should be careful and stick to some kind of standard safety procedure.

Since neither of us spots anything unusual, we silently enter the hallway through the main door. There's only little light with the storm going on outside, but it's enough for me to see the layer of dust on the floor.

"Nobody has been here in a while," I whisper, relieved.

"How do you know?" Four frowns at me.

"There are no footprints on the floor. The dust is coating the wood evenly. And apart from the dust, it is clean. With the weather like it is now, there'd be dirt, too."

"Good point."

I'm proud of his praise, as he isn't usually generous with it, and now he has actually complimented me twice.

"Thanks."

"We should check anyway and then see if we find a place to sit down."

I nod and we take a look into each room. It doesn't take long, since it's so small. There's a living room with a fireplace and some basic furniture, a kitchen, a bathroom and two more rooms that look as if someone had stored his stuff in there to come and pick it up one day, but the dust and the spider's webs as well as the colors stolen by the sunlight of numerous summers show that this house has been like this for a long time. The previous owners seem to have left long ago.

We sit down on two shaky chairs in the living room and both look outside the window. I like that neither of us has the urge to fill the silence with chatter. Instead, we watch the snowflakes fall to the ground, where they gather and build a steadily growing layer. How are we going to get home in this weather?


	2. Chapter 2

It doesn't take long until I start to feel cold and my body starts trembling even under the many layers of clothing, now that I'm not longer moving to keep myself warm.

"You're cold?"

Four has obviously paid attention to me.

"Yes, cause we're just sitting here. It was okay while we were walking around outside, but now I feel like I'm freezing."

He holds my gaze for some seconds, and I can see him think. It's funny that he sometimes is so easy to read when there are other times when his words or actions don't make sense to me at all.

"Maybe we should go outside and collect some wood. I have waterproof matches and fire accelerant in my backpack, which should help us to light a fire even when the wood is cold and wet."

"Yes, let's do that. We can't go back to the train tracks during this storm anyway." I get up from my chair, and so does Four.

"Even if we could, I'm not sure if the trains are even running in this weather. We'll find out about that later, but for now we should start a fire and warm ourselves up."

I didn't think about the possibility that the trains would have to be stopped, but it's only reasonable.

The moment I step outside, a sharp blast of air blows right into my face, making it hard to breathe. The air is so cold that it hurts to let it into my lungs. I choose to ignore that and start gathering firewood. The faster we're done with that, the sooner we'll be sitting in front of a warm fire. The thought alone makes a shiver run down my back in anticipation of the warmth that's going to embrace me.

We have to dig into the snow to pick up branches that have already fallen to the ground. The cold of the frozen crystals on my skin causes a burning pain at first, until it is soon replaced by numbness.

"Do you know how to light a fire?" Four asks me after we've each dumped the second armful of wood next to the door.

"Yes, I think I can do that," I say, sounding more confident than I actually feel. I've watched the Factionless start a fire numerous times back when I was helping to bring supplies into their territory, I've just never done it myself before. But it can't be that hard.

"Okay, why don't you go inside and get it burning and I fetch some more wood. I don't think we'll be able to leave this place soon, and I'd prefer not having to go out again once I'm comfortably warm and dry."

"Yeah, sure," I say and pick up the same branches I've put down two minutes ago to carry them inside. I pile them up in front of the wall beside the fireplace, where it will eventually dry faster than in the hall once the fire is heating up the place. Right now it is so wet that it will be difficult to light it. I look around at the old pieces of furniture. There are four chairs around a table, and then there's another, smaller table in front of a green couch. In one corner there are two shelves, one stacked with some yellowed books, the other one empty. Maybe I could use that one to get the fire started.

I take out the toolbox we used earlier and look for the right screwdriver, then start to dismantle the shelf. I need to use some extra force to loosen the old screws, but it works. I use the smaller parts to build a pyramid with it and then tear a book apart to use its crumpled pages to light them first underneath the wood.

When I've set everything up, I walk over to our backpacks. Now that I grab Four's, I notice that it's much heavier than mine. Don't we have the same equipment inside? I can ask him about that later. What's most important is the fire. I rummage through his backpack until I find the matches and accelerator that he told me about between various supplies of food, tools, bags and boxes.

By the time Four stumbles back inside with his arms full of another pile of wood, I have the fire going. It's not very big yet, but at least it's burning. Once it has grown a bit, we can start using the wet branches. If we put in one at a time, it'll work somehow. At least that's what I hope.

Four shakes his head when he sees me in front of the fireplace, pieces of the former shelf scattered around me, a half-torn book by my side.

"I thought you wanted to start a fire, not to demolish this house's interior," he says, but I recognize the humor in his voice.

"I started a fire," I say innocently and gesture to the orange flames that keep growing each minute.

"Yes, I can see that. I'll bring in the rest of the firewood and then I'm happy to join you."

I nod and carry two of the chairs over so that we can actually sit by the fire without having to take the floor.

Half an hour later, I'm feeling much warmer already, although the temperature in the room is still cold. The snowstorm has calmed down a bit, but not much. Four is fumbling with a walkie-talkie, trying to get a connection to the Dauntless compound. It takes a while until we hear Lauren's voice hissing through the speaker, and it's difficult to understand what she's saying.

Four gets up and walks over to one of the windows in search of a better connection. It helps a little, but we have to concentrate on what Lauren is saying. It's a difficult conversation with lots of repetitions because, one way or the other, the signal is horrible.

The main result is that there are no more trains going today due to the storm and that it's safer for us to just stay here until tomorrow if we're not in immediate danger. In that case they'd ask around for volunteers to go and get us with a truck, but it's difficult to even explain to them where we are, and it's getting dark already. Four looks at me questioningly, and I know he's giving me a choice. I don't want to ruin anyone else's Christmas, and I certainly don't want anyone to risk being involved in an accident when having to drive around in this weather. No, my decision is clear. I slightly shake my head. Four nods and presses down the send-button again to tell Lauren that we've started a fire and are safe in the house. She wishes us a Merry Christmas, but even despite the bad quality of the connection I can hear that she sounds sad.

Four sighs as he puts the device away and sits back down next to me. "I'm sorry, Tris. It's your first Christmas in Dauntless, you should have been able to celebrate it with your friends and get to know all our faction's crazy holiday traditions. I even checked the weather forecast yesterday evening, and this storm wasn't supposed to hit until later this night."

"It's not your fault."

"The weather isn't, but I chose you to accompany me today," he admits.

I don't know how to respond to that. We stay quiet for a while, until I can't hold my question back any longer. "Why?"

He doesn't answer immediately, and I wonder why he has to think that long about his response.

"I picked you because you're in my group of initiates, and I didn't want you to have to go with Eric. I put your name behind this date because it's the last mission for me, and I wanted to take someone with me who I think is capable to really help me with the task. I thought if I chose you, we'd be done as fast as possible and be back on time to celebrate Christmas in the compound."

"You keep praising me so much today, I'm not used to that," I mutter as I try to cover my cheeks with my hands to hide my reaction from him.

"It's Christmas, after all," he smiles and turns to look into the fire again. "But I don't make it up. I mean what I say. That's why I don't usually praise much. I don't like to tell lies."

I nod, the heat in my cheeks increasing.

"By the way, you don't have to try to hide your blush from me. Your cheeks are red from the cold and the fire anyway. It doesn't make much difference," he chuckles.

Really?

"It doesn't help that you say you've noticed that." Now I feel even more embarrassed, which seems to amuse him somehow.

"I know you're from Abnegation and it's difficult to distance yourself from your upbringing, but let me tell you: You have no reason to blush - although I like it."

He likes it when I blush? I slowly take my hands down from my face, trying not to hide from his gaze. Instead, I force myself to look up in his deep blue eyes that shine so awake despite the long day we've already had. I notice a strong pull in my belly, a longing to get closer to him. I've felt it before, but not that strong, not that immediate. It scares me. This whole situation makes me nervous. I don't know what has changed between us. Maybe it's the decision that we'll spend the night together in this house, far away from anybody else, and, on top of that, on Christmas Eve.

I take a deep breath and change the topic. "So which plans did you have for tonight?"

It's not lost on me that some kind of tension leaves his body and he relaxes back into his chair. If I didn't know it any better, I'd say he was nervous, too.

"I was going to join the big dinner in the cafeteria, like the majority of Dauntless. It's always funny to celebrate down there, with lots of tasty food and loud music and singing and Christmas punch - although I never join the singing, cause I don't want to be responsible for causing anyone pain on Christmas Eve." He smiles. "I mostly enjoy watching the others making fools of themselves at Christmas karaoke after they've had too much punch. And for later tonight, I was invited by my friend Zeke. He's having a Christmas party in his apartment. I think you know him, too. He's Uriah's brother, and they're both equally crazy sometimes."

"Then we would have spent the evening together anyway, because I was planning to go to the same party. Uriah invited me."

"If you see it like that… Only the setting has changed a bit. And the crowd. And the food. And the decorations," he lists.

"It's a little different, yes," I laugh. "Speaking of food, what did we bring that we can try to turn into a Dauntless Christmas dinner?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I was a little late, so I took everything the kitchen staff had prepared for us and put it into the bag. I only noticed that it was a lot. I mean, we have to take a certain amount of food with us whenever we leave the compound for a mission that's out this far from the city, so that in case of an emergency we won't be hungry. I've carried extra supplies around a lot of times already, but I've never needed them so far. So, let's check."

He drags our backpacks over and takes out all the food he can find in there, which is actually a lot. Most of it only needs to be heated, which is good, since we find out that the electricity doesn't work in this house. It's too far away from other buildings, and nobody has ever bothered to take care of the electric cables, to keep them in shape.

We decide for what we can prepare over the open fire and then fetch all the items from the kitchen that we need. The rest of the house is still cold, while the small living room has become warm enough to take off our jackets and scarves.

While we prepare the food, we chat a bit more about how Christmas is celebrated in Dauntless. It sounds like so much fun. Hopefully, I'll get to experience it next year.

"I was looking forward so much to decorating the big Christmas tree," I sigh. It was put up in the middle of the pit yesterday, and apparently it's a big event to decorate it in all the colors of the rainbow right before dinner on Christmas Eve. "In Abnegation, we just put in some white lights, and that was it. No colors, no special decorations." Now I'll have to wait a whole year until I can decorate my first Christmas tree.

There's a pause in which we both follow our own thoughts.

"How about we go and look for spontaneous presents in here? The other two rooms are full of old stuff. We could try to find something there that we can give to each other. Just for fun. I mean, I have no idea what's in the boxes, could be anything, but at least we would each get one present."

"That sounds a little crazy, but, yes, challenge accepted. If I don't find anything good for you, I can always say that it's the first time I'm giving a Christmas present to anyone, and I'm lacking practice in picking something good," I laugh.

"Well, at least I already have an idea in mind," he says proudly, nudging my arm gently to tease me.

"You have years of practice," I nudge him back in the side, and he wriggles his eyebrows at me,

"Yes, sure, years and endless years of practice. I'll go first and see if I can find what I'm thinking of." And with that, shaking his head while silently laughing to himself, he leaves me alone in the living room, taking his flashlight with him.

Now, that's going to be difficult. How is it possible that he already has something in mind for me, while I have no idea? Of course, I know that he's not expecting anything great, since we're stranded in the middle of nowhere with a house full of random stuff, but I wish I would at least have an idea.

I use a knife to carve two thinner twigs into skewers that we can use to put the slices of bread and some vegetables on to roast them over the fire, and pour the soup out of a big can into a metal pot. We're going to place it close to the flames to heat it up, hoping that it'll bring the rest of missing warmth back to our bodies.

Four returns wearing a content smile. I can't help but notice how handsome he's looking in the firelight. Again, my stomach is doing a somersault. I'm stuck here with him, maybe that's not so bad after all. Maybe he'll finally open up a bit and tell me something about himself.

"I'm done looking through the stuff, but I need some time to prepare your present in the living room, so please knock if you want to come back in, okay?"

"No pressure for me to find a good present, hm?" I tease, burning with curiosity now. That's the excitement everyone keeps talking about when it comes to presents, I guess.

It's not easy to look through the boxes in the darkness, with only little light shining in through the window and the flashlight in one of my hands. Most of the things are old and out-fashioned. There are some clothes that look strange to me, plastic objects that I can't name and that I don't know what they were once used for, office equipment like papers and scissors and pens that surely won't write anymore, wine glasses, cables, lots of books and a thousand things more. I can't figure out a structure with which the boxes are packed, or how the things are stowed on the shelves along the walls.

I finally find some candles that could turn out to be useful, as well as a book of Christmas stories for children. It could be interesting to read a bit in it later. I continue looking for something that could make a good present until I come across a radio. It looks old and worn, but maybe it's still working. Then we could listen to some music, if we'd be able to find a signal. It seems to be something Four likes about Christmas Eve. At least, that was the impression I got when he spoke about the music in the Dauntless cafeteria during dinner, his eyes lighting up.

I decide to give it a try, but I'll have to put in new batteries. It's easy to open its empty battery compartment. The contacts are a bit rusty, but I think I can polish them with the right tool. How convenient I learned how to do that this morning. I grin at the coincidence.

Before I enter the living room, I gently knock on the door. Four won't let me into the room. Instead, he brings the backpacks out into the hall so that I can rummage through them, telling me he needs at least five more minutes to finish what he's doing.

"Fine, me too," I grin, and only minutes later I turn on the radio. It's in a sorry state, but the sound is better than I expected, once I've managed to find a program. Each faction has just one, and we can usually receive our own faction's signal only, but this old thing receives them all. I'm surprised that it's possible. I've never asked myself how it's technically done that our radios only get one signal, but I realize now that they're probably constructed to block every signal apart from the one they should get. Wow, my present for Four has just become far more interesting than I thought it would be. I turn it off again, smiling. Although I don't know that much about him, I think that this is a present he'll like. I wrap it into a blue shirt that I pull out of the box next to me and then tie an old shoelace around the packet, finishing with a bow on top.

This time I'm allowed back into the living room when I knock, and Four has already taken our backpacks back inside, too. I immediately notice that the one difference to the way the room was before is the shelf that's now placed in front of the wall beside the fireplace, the few books that had been inside piled up in a corner of the room. But other than that, I can't spot a gift for me.

Four sees how I'm searching the room with my eyes, wondering what has taken him so long. "You'll find out after the meal. Presents are exchanged during dinner in Dauntless and unwrapped later, up in the apartments. They're usually put on the table while people eat, but unfortunately yours won't fit."

"You know you're making me curious, don't you?"

"I can indeed see it in your eyes. But you'll have to wait, just like me." He nods to the present with the funny wrapping in my hands, and I place it demonstratively in front of his plate.

We then both sit down at the set table and start with the pumpkin soup that is steaming by now, filling the room with a delicious smell. Oh, this is so good! It is like I expected, it warms my entire body.

Then we start roasting the bread and red peppers over the fire, and it works fine and doesn't take too long. We also have pasta salad, small tomatoes that carry the taste of the sun, a sandwich that Four cut into pieces and thin slices of cold meat with a sweet fruity sauce. It's an interesting mix of food, since it wasn't composed to be a meal but more a variety of different snacks. We both don't care about that, since it's tasty and we're hungry after the long day, not exactly having eaten a lot. Maybe we had if we had known that there was a storm coming.

It's a nice atmosphere, having dinner right next to the fire. Christina constantly tells me how much she likes to have candlelight dinners with Will, and now I get why she likes it. The fire casts an intimate light into the room, bathing everything in flickering gold. Four looks even more handsome in the firelight, his features soft and the tone of his skin warm. We keep up a light and pleasant conversation. Sometimes our eyes meet, and then we smile shyly at each other before looking away again. Every time this happens, I get more confident that it's not just a coincidence. I think he's looking at me like I'm looking at him every time I think he doesn't notice. I have to stop myself from reaching out to take his hand more than once.

After finishing our main course, we decide to leave the dessert, two chocolate muffins, for later because neither of us can eat much more at the moment. We put away the remainders of our food and then sit back down.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy Christmas cuteness ahead! ;-)

"Okay, so how do you usually go on at Dauntless? The presents are next, aren't they?" I ask eagerly. I had forgotten about it for a while during dinner, but now I want to see what it is that he has picked for me.

"Impatient, mh?" Four grins.

"You have to excuse that, but in Abnegation we don't get presents very often. At Christmas, each child gets a small one until we're eight, but after that we're supposed to be old enough to not need it, or even want it, anymore. And we always got them in the morning of the 25th, so that Christmas Eve would be more about Christmas and less about the presents."

"I know."

I look at him in surprise. Why does he know? It's not very common to know about another faction's holiday traditions, unless you're a transfer, because usually it's frowned upon to talk about it. Once again, I wonder if he was a transfer, too, like me, but then he's an instructor already at his young age, and he looks so at home in the training room that it seems as if he's grown up in there.

"Well, like I said, at Dauntless we open our gifts at the Christmas parties after Dinner, and that would be now, in our case. Minus the people, the alcohol and the music."

"And the tree," I add. "So you start." I pick up my present for him. "Merry Christmas, Four!"

"Tobias," he mumbles.

"Sorry?"

"That's my real name: Tobias. Four is just a nickname."

For the first time ever, he has revealed something personal about himself, and he gazes down at his hands nervously before he looks up to meet my eyes again. I've never heard anyone call him by his real name, not even Zeke, Shauna or Lauren, who seem to be his closest friends. So why does he tell _me_?

"Then I'd say 'Merry Christmas, Tobias!'" I correct myself, and he smiles softly.

"It's nice to hear my name again."

I hand my present over to him, our fingers touching for a heartbeat. His hands is warm. We stay like this for a second too long, and then I watch him unwrap the packet carefully, fighting with the shoelace for a moment because I've accidentally knotted it too tightly. But in the end, he opens it and his eyebrows shoot up.

"Wow, a radio! Does it work?"

"Of course it does. Do you think I'd give you a broken radio for Christmas?" I chuckle.

"No, not really," he shakes his head, laughing, "but you have to excuse me, I usually get my Christmas present from Zeke."

He switches on the radio and a happy grin spreads across his face as music comes out of the speakers. Again, it's not the best quality, but he doesn't seem to mind.

"That's the Dauntless radio channel. They sing this song every year in the cafeteria."

"You can also tune in to the other faction's channels."

"Really? That should be interesting. Usually, our radios are modified to only receive one signal."

"That's what I thought of earlier."

We listen to the song first, and after it has finished, Tobias switches through the channels, finding every other faction's programme.

"Thank you, Tris, this is really a great present."

I'm so happy that I've picked the right thing out of the many things in this house, and his content smile is the best about it all.

"So now you'll get your present, but unfortunately, it's just for tonight. You won't be able to take it home with you."

I frown as I think about what it could be, confused.

"Now, let me show you before you get lost in thinking about what it could be," Tobias says softly and takes my hand as he stands, pulling me up from my chair. I follow him around the table with a rapidly beating heart. He leads me to the empty shelf that he's moved in front of the wall and I give him a puzzled look. An empty shelf?

"Wait and see," he says, squeezing my hand gently before letting go of it. I instantly miss his touch, leaving my skin strangely cold. He moves the shelf away to the side and reveals the contour of a Christmas tree drawn on the wall in green color. He has also drawn some candles on the branches, three baubles in different sizes and some typical black and white Dauntless Christmas candies.

I'm momentary speechless. He's made me a Christmas tree!

"Uhm, I've started with the decorations a bit, but I thought we could finish it together, since you've never done it…"

"Thank you," I get out, overwhelmed by his idea. And then I do something that I usually wouldn't do, but since he took my hand a minute ago, I follow the impulse to hug him. It takes him a second to react, and then he wraps his arms around my back and holds me to him. I lay my cheek against his chest and feel it rise and fall with his breathing.

We do nothing else apart from standing there, holding each other in a perfectly peaceful moment, while the radio keeps playing in the background.

I realize I don't regret missing the Christmas festivities at the Dauntless compound anymore. Instead, I get to spend the evening with Tobias in front of a fireplace. I would never have thought of this turn of events when I got up this morning.

"Let's decorate your Christmas tree," Tobias mumbles, but he doesn't move. I nod, although he certainly can't see it, and slowly ease out of his embrace. For a second our eyes meet, and I wonder what to make of this situation. If only I knew how to decode what this means.

Tobias swallows and then gets a bunch of thick crayons from behind his backpack. He offers them to me to choose a color. I pick the red one and then start by adding another candle to the tree.

We sit and kneel side by side on the floor and draw garlands, baubles and tiny gingerbread men, among many other things, for at least an hour while the radio is playing Christmas music. Tobias changes the channel every now and then, so we get to know what kind of music they hear in each faction. Dauntless has mostly faster tracks with lots of electric guitars, Erudite has electronic music and even the singer's voices are modified, and Amity plays happy tunes sung by many voices at the same time, accompanied by acoustic guitar, tambourines and maracas.

We're both surprised to find that the Candor listen to a wide variety of music styles. Between the songs, different members of their faction tell stories about how not being afraid to tell the truth has helped them in their lives.

Then we tune in to Abnegation, and I instantly miss my family. The simple piano music takes me back to my parents' house, where we would have an unusual lavish dinner, cooked with spices and sugar as a special exception. It's the only holiday that we really celebrate, but it's still a quiet one. We listen to the music and think about what has happened during the last year, we say prayers and later work together on items that we want to give to the Factionless the next day among all the things we've already made during the month of December for this occasion. It's mostly clothes, but it can also be simple furniture, or food, like bread. Some families invite a Factionless man or woman into their house to celebrate with them, but it's mostly something that couples without children do. I wonder if my parents have someone with them this year, since they don't have Caleb and me living with them anymore.

"The music makes you sad, doesn't it? I can switch back to Dauntless, if you like," Tobias says, looking at me intently.

"One more song, please. It makes me think of my parents. I just hope they're okay tonight. – Sorry, I shouldn't be talking about my old faction, I know you don't like it when we do that."

"It's okay, Tris. It's Christmas. And, you know, I'm here with you as Tobias right now, not as Four. Besides, I like this tune, too."

I slowly nod, thankful that he allows me my moment of melancholy while we continue drawing. When he is with our group of transfers, he always gets angry whenever he hears someone speaking about their old faction.

When the song is over, I sigh deeply. It doesn't change anything if I'm sad. I try to let the memories go and silently wish my parents a happy Christmas. Tobias watches me carefully as I try to pull myself out of the past. He goes over to change the radio channel exactly one second before I was going to tell him that he could.

"I'd prefer Amity music, if you're okay with it. It's cheerful, you know?"

"Sure. And would you like to put something on top of your tree now? I think if we decorate it much more, the whole thing is going to crash under the weight."

"What do you usually put on the top?"

"The glowing flag that we use when playing 'capture the flag'. But you can choose whatever you like."

Different ideas flicker through my mind until I decide what I want to draw. I pick a light blue crayon and start to work. When Tobias recognizes the form I'm creating, he shakes his head, but when I turn to him, I can see that it's out of amusement.

"I can't believe that's what you chose, of all the things you could think of."

"Don't you like it?"

"Yes, yes, I do. At least in general. Maybe not today's amount."

"Fair point. But I think it fits our situation," I smile and proudly look at the perfectly symmetrical snowflake on top of my Christmas tree.

I propose taking a look into the Christmas book I found earlier, and Tobias suggests that we should sit down on the couch with it. When I come back from fetching the paperback, he's already made himself comfortable in the living room. He has pulled down the zipper along the whole side of one of our sleeping bags, so that it serves as a blanket. We're lucky it is part of the Dauntless standard equipment when going on a mission, or it would be really cold and uncomfortable tonight.

I sit down next to Tobias, close enough that we can both take a look inside the book. He wordlessly puts an arm around my shoulders and covers us with the sleeping bag. It's a little too narrow for the both of us to fit under it, so I shift closer to his side.

That's better. I feel safe and warm in his arm, and a little nervous, too, but in a good way.

We spend the next hour reading to each other from the collection of ancient Christmas tales, and they're full of things that are foreign to us, or that are funny, or strange.

Once, I turn the page and spot a picture of a woman hanging mistletoe over a door frame. I didn't know that tradition was that old.

"What is it about the mistletoe?"

"Nobody has told you yet?"

"No. Christina said I'd find out one day. But now Christmas is almost over."

"It's not. I tell you what, if you manage to find some mistletoe in here, I might show you."

"Hey, what kind of offer is that? Where am I supposed to find mistletoe? You're cheating! You're promising something you already know you won't have to keep."

"Maybe. But I'm still being honest. I'd follow up on it."

"So funny. You're keeping me in the dark on purpose."

He doesn't say anything else, he just shrugs his shoulders as if he wanted to apologize, a knowing smile on his lips.

"Would you like to go out for a short walk? It's not snowing anymore."

Where does that idea suddenly come from?

"Why?"

"Tradition."

He's right. We do that around midnight on Christmas Eve - in Abnegation.

"Yeah, but please, really a _short_ walk."

"Like I said. Don't worry, I'm not in the mood to go on a hike either." He gets up from the couch. "I'll go and find us something we can use as a lantern, and then I'll make us some tea. You can stay on the sofa if you like."

I nod and continue flipping through the book's smelly pages when I have an idea. I turn to the last page, a yellowish empty paper. I tear it out and start drawing a hasty version of mistletoe, then get up and look around for a tool that I can fix it with.

Two minutes later, I stand back and proudly admire my work. Let's see what he'll say when he sees this.

It's only when we're wrapped in our jackets again, ready to leave, that he spots it.

"I found you some mistletoe, will you tell me now?" I grin at him mischievously.

He's hesitating and I don't know why. I can see the change in his composure after he's come to a decision.

"We'll have to stand underneath it, together," he says and reaches for my hand for the second time tonight. He leads me over and opens the door to the hall, so that we can really stand underneath my drawing. We stand face to face, and my heart starts pounding like crazy when he takes my other hand in his free one.

We keep our eyes locked as Tobias comes closer. He's moving slowly, as if he's afraid of startling me. I realize that he's about to kiss me, and also that I want him to. I don't dare to move, finding it suddenly hard to keep breathing normally. And then he tips my nose with his before gently touching his lips to mine. They are warm and soft. Before I know what I'm doing, I'm kissing him back. It's a slow and gentle kiss from beginning to end.

"That's the thing with all the mistletoe," Tobias whispers in my ear, making me shiver.

"It'll still be here when we come back," I whisper, my voice hoarse. I feel so warm with the fire and all the clothes and his kiss. Especially his kiss. I could really need some fresh air.

We keep holding hands as we step outside, Tobias carrying a big glass with a small candle inside while I have the thermos bottle of hot tea. We decide to just walk a big round around the house and then drink the tea before we go back inside.

"I didn't know Dauntless had this tradition, too, going for a silent walk at night on Christmas Eve."

"It doesn't."

"No? But how do you know about it?"

"I just happen to know."

It's his way to tell me that he doesn't want to explain it to me, I think. I wish he would. I turn over the possibilities in my head. Maybe he has friends in my former faction. Or maybe some transfer at Dauntless told him.

When we've completed our trip, which took us about ten minutes at the most, Tobias sets down the glass and I open the bottle. It's the moment in which we have to let go of each other's hand. I'd rather keep holding his hand than drinking tea right now. I take a sip and then hand the bottle over to Tobias. He sets it down on the ground after drinking a bit, but I didn't expect him to grab some snow and throw a snowball at me.

I'm totally dumbfounded by his attack, and he uses my surprise to run away a few yards. But then my training kicks in, and I bow down and pick up a handful of snow, too.

"You'll see what you'll get for using underhand methods against me!" I shout as I hurl the ball in his direction, but he dodges it.

"Oh come on, you can aim better than that," he teases, and then an epic battle begins. I've never thrown snowballs before, but I've seen the Dauntless children doing it every winter when I grew up.

It's so much fun.

Tobias raises his hands in defeat after I managed to blast a snowball directly against his forehead.

"Okay, okay, I give up. You win!" he pants, out of breath from running around.

"How can I know you're being honest?"

"You can't. You'll have to trust me."

I laugh. "After you shoved snow down my neck?"

"Okay, I don't have a white flag, but I'll make you a snow angel. They symbolize peace, don't they?"

"Go ahead," I order, surprised he knows how to do it. I watch him lie down in an untouched part of the lawn and form an angel with his arms and legs.

"You've convinced me. I'll join you, but no tricks."

I lie down in the bed of snowflakes, too, and while I move, it hits me. He knows the same Christmas songs and traditions I know. He knows about the silent walk. He knows about the snow angels we were only allowed to make in our own compound when we were children.

I turn to look at him, and I'm not surprised that his eyes are on me. This time, I take his hand in mine.

"Did you grow up in Abnegation?" I ask and hold my breath. I have no idea how he'll react to my question.

"Yes." His voice is barely audible, although it's not a whisper.

"You never tell anyone, do you?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't like to speak about my family." He pauses. "I don't want to talk about it now, either. But Tris… when we are back at Dauntless tomorrow, I want to show you my fear landscape. Then you'll understand."

"You'd let me see your fears?"

"Yes. It's only fair, since I know yours."

"You know all the initiate's fears."

"True, but you're the only one I want to show mine."

I swallow.

"Why me?"

He sighs.

"I like you, Tris."

Did he really just say that?

I know he's waiting for a response, but I think I've lost my ability to speak. Instead, I roll over onto my side until I'm right next to him, and then I kiss him.

This kiss is different than our first. He pulls me close to him until there's no space left between us, and my hands fly to his neck. A weird longing mixed with warmth spreads in my belly and conquers my whole body as we deepen the kiss. I've never felt like this, so alive and happy.

_He likes me. He wants to kiss me. Me!_

It's so easy, our lips moving together, and I can't even say who's leading. I start playing with the hair that's not covered by his black woolly hat, and his grip on my back tightens as one of his hands travels up to my neck, too. It's the only part of skin he can reach due to the winter clothes.

If it wasn't for the cold, I could go on like this forever, but when I can't feel my fingers anymore, I break our kiss and rest my forehead against his. We're both breathing heavily, and it takes me a moment until I have enough air to speak again.

"Why don't we continue this inside?" I whisper.

"I'd love to."

"Let's go then," I say and peck his lips before getting up and pulling him out of the snow with me. I don't want to let go of his hand, and we walk back to the entrance hand in hand. By now, even the hall has warmed a bit. We take off our woolly hats, jackets and boots before we go into the living room again.

"Wait," Tobias pulls me back underneath the door frame that I've already passed. "Traditions," he murmurs against my lips before his mouth covers mine again.

"You're sure you haven't made this up just to kiss me?" I smile up at him.

He places a hand over his heart. "You'd think that of me? Now, that hurts." And then his voice changes from mock hurt to playful self-confidence. "Besides, I don't need mistletoe to keep kissing you."

And with that he leads me closer to the fire, kicking the door close behind us. He only lets go of my hands to put some more wood into the fire that has burned down while we've been outside. He then takes my face into his hands, making my skin burn both from their cold and their touch. He keeps them on my cheeks as he kisses me again. It gets better every time, with both of us gaining confidence.

The fireplace isn't where he wants to stay. He walks me backwards, and we both smile at the difficulty to keep kissing while walking. He pulls me down on the couch next to him, where we start roaming our hands over each other. In a burst of confidence, I lick his lips and I'm rewarded with him letting out a groan before he pulls me against him as close as it is possible in this position and flicks his tongue over my lower lip. It's the beginning of a kiss that is more heated than all the others count together, with our tongues playing with each other's, exploring. It feels amazing.

My stomach flips when Tobias pulls me onto his lap very slowly. It's my choice as much as his as I let him guide me to sit on his legs. This way we can hold each other much closer. He trails kisses along my jaw and neck, accelerating my breathing further. I pull on his hair, and he groans softly against the skin behind my ear.

My longing to feel his skin is stronger than my shyness, the intimate setting and his strong arms making me feel safe. I slip my hands under his sweatshirt, testing his reaction. As he mirrors what I'm doing and roams over my back under my pullover, I'm sure he wants the same. I slowly pull the fabric up over his head and let it fall somewhere beside us. His gaze is intense and I hold it while he takes off my pullover. He swallows as I grab the hem of his shirt and lift it up. My heart beats frantically at what I'm doing. I place my palms on his shoulders and run them down over his naked chest and abs, and then back up in sync with him pushing up the fabric of my shirt. I hold my breath when he lets it fall on the heap of clothes next to us. Nobody has ever seen that much of my body, not even my family or friends, as I'm the only initiate that keeps changing in the bathroom.

Tobias is breathing as heavily as I am. For a moment, neither of us knows what to do next, my hands resting on his shoulders and his on my naked waist. I'm surprised at how far we've gone already and by how natural it feels, and I lean down to cover his mouth with mine.

The kiss is endless and passionate as we both run our hands over each other's skin, and I can actually feel my effects on him when I shift closer to him on his lap. Instead of scaring me, it does the opposite. It only feeds my curiosity and my confidence. He doesn't mind that I'm not exactly curvy. He tries to put some distance between us as soon as he realizes that I must perceive what's going on with him, but I hold on to him tightly. I don't want distance, I want closeness.

"I just don't want to go any further tonight," he mutters into my ear hoarsely. "I want to show you my fear landscape first, so you know who I am."

"I don't want to go further tonight either. I just want to be close to you. And I think I already learned a lot about who you are tonight," I reply silently. I wonder if his landscape will also explain the scars I can feel on his back.

"You never replied to me when I told you that I liked you," he whispers.

"I thought all this kissing was expressing it quite well, but if you want to hear it: I like you, too, Tobias."

"Yes, I like the sound of those words," he says before pulling me into a strong embrace and into a shower of heat he causes with all his kisses during the next hour, or longer. I have no idea what time it is when we finally decide to go to sleep.

We put our shirts back on and push the couch in front of the fireplace. Tobias takes out the second sleeping bag.

"We can use them separately or join them with the zippers to make a big one."

"Make a big one," I reply, and he grins at me before he gets to work.

It's a good thing I'm so tired from the long day, or I'd probably never be able to fall asleep with him so close. He's lying behind me, his arms wrapped protectively around me.

"I couldn't have had a better first Christmas Eve at Dauntless," I say, smiling as I replay the day in front of my inner eye. This afternoon, I didn't think it would turn into such a great night.

"It's the best third Christmas I had at Dauntless," Tobias chuckles behind me.

"Good night," I say and snuggle closer to him, if that's even possible.

"Sleep well, Tris."

I sigh when he kisses the back of my head, and then I let sleep take me over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoyed this short story?  
> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos or comments if you liked it.  
> Merry Christmas!


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